Video Capture and Synchronisation System Takes Texture Analysis to Next Level

Equipment from Stable Micro Systems now provides reportedly unrivalled texture analysis data and analysis capabilities for pharmaceutical and supplement manufacturers. The company’s new video capture and synchronisation system enables customers to record tests and replay them frame by frame simultaneously with corresponding force-distance-time graphs.

According to Stable Micro Systems, this is an industry first, meaning that even the quickest tests or those involving complex breaking patterns like multilayer tablets can be viewed and analysed in minute detail.

The new system includes a moveable video camera, a transparent test platform, which permits recordings from underneath the sample, and an optional light attachment. To conduct a test, the camera is positioned in the most appropriate location for testing. As the TA.XTplus texture analyser begins collecting data, a signal is relayed to the video capture interface, which initiates recording at up to 50 frames per second. Data is collected and analysed by

Stable Micro Systems’s proprietary software Exponent. When replayed afterwards, each video frame is automatically synchronised with the data points on the force-time graph, allowing graph events to be related simply to visual events on the product.

Jo Smewing, Applications Manager at Stable Micro Systems, said: “This new system represents a huge leap forward in texture analysis for the pharmaceutical industry. Decisive visual aspects of a test can be easily missed by the human eye but are critical to understanding a product’s performance. A chalk tablet, for example, can break or crumble very quickly, making it impossible for human observers to note the exact point at which it failed. Similarly, it’s difficult to see with the naked eye how much a gel capsule deforms before bursting.

“Automatically correlating the peaks and troughs of a force-distance-time graph with frame by frame video recordings means the exact behaviour of a sample can be recorded, interpreted simply and re-examined as often as required. It also enables users to identify anomalies in a test without the need for re-testing at a later date and to undertake far more detailed comparative analyses.”

The new video capture and synchronisation system will be invaluable to R&D professionals and quality control departments as they seek to optimise the appeal and effectiveness of their products.

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